I cannot express to you how excited I am about Emily Scott Robinson’s new album coming out on October 28th.
So far, she has released two songs from this MacBeth-inspired project: “Built on Bones” and “Double Double.”
And while “Built on Bones” has this soft, airy quality to it, making it feel like a prophecy, “Double Double” has its own brand of southern gothic ominousness, making it feel like a spell is being put on you.
If the lyrics and music video are any indicators, then yes. That is exactly what is happening to us.
The song starts with that classic witch incantation:
“Double double toil and trouble
Fire burn and cauldron bubble…“
The video perfectly mimics these lyrics by starting with a video effect that makes us see double and then transitions into Robinson in all white walking through a forest that has been burned down.
As the video continues, we’re introduced to our other two witches, Alisa Amador and Lizzy Ross, who are featured on this song as well as “Built on Bones.”
I’m kinda obsessed with these two women’s voices, which we can hear more on this song. Of course, the three together are still pretty stellar.
What I’m loving about this song and “Built on Bones” is how atmospheric they are. The lyrics are relatively familiar to us. We all know the first four ingredients to make any good potion:
“Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog”
So, instead of picking apart the lyrics, we can just enjoy the sound and the witchy vibes. The video keeps those vibes going with all of the classic witchy imagery, including the three women dressed in all black sitting in a circle and chanting.
What’s really cool and interesting is the end of the music video. Emily Scott Robinson is walking through the same burned down forest, now dressed in all black because she has completed her spell, but when she pauses and holds out her hand, it is filled with seeds that she lets fall to the ground.
So, maybe the destruction wasn’t the witches’ doing. Maybe they’re trying to reverse it…
Whatever the meaning of the song is, it’s still another one to add to your spooky October playlists.
